'All children are victims of muggings'

The credibility of Labour's claim to be tackling street crime was questioned by one of the party's MPs yesterday when she said that almost every teenager in her constituency had been mugged.

Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, claimed that the young were robbed "regularly".

The north London MP said being mugged for iPods and phones was a "hidden crime" that few dared report. She said: "I suspect there are hardly any children in Islington who have not been mugged at some stage."

Last year there were 1,229 muggings reported in the Islington police area. Sixty-one per cent or 750 were under 18. Almost half of the total said their mugger was a teenager.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the MP's claim was "based on speculation". "We acknowledge that a large proportion of personal robbery victims are aged under 18 and that just one victim is one too many."